Seven Years in Tibet (1997) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	None
Rating	?
Year Of Production	1997
Running Time	135:58
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Jean-Jacques Annaud
Studio Distributor	Sony Pictures Home Entertain	Starring	Brad Pitt David Thewlis B.D. Wong Mako Danny Denzongpa Victor Wong Ingeborga Dapkunaite Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk Lhakpa Tsamchoe Jetsun Pema Ama Ashe Dongtse Sonam Wangchuk Dorjee Tsering
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	John Williams

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English Spanish French	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes

    Seven Years in Tibet is a lavish, absorbing, moving, and truly inspiring film that tells a beautiful story of salvation and humanity, set in one of the World's most harsh and isolated areas.

    The script for Seven Years in Tibet is based on the 1953 memoir of Austrian mountain climber Heinrich Harrer, a former member of Hitler's beloved SS.

    Harrer (Brad Pitt) is an arrogant, selfish, and egocentric mountaineer and show-off. Amid a Nazi Germany media frenzy, Harrer's quest for fame leads him to abandon his pregnant wife to join a 1939 expedition to climb the unconquered Nanga Parbat - one of the highest peaks of the Himalayas. The German climbing team is led by Peter Aufschnaiter (David Thewlis), and there is a great deal of tension between the two, as Harrer doesn't like to take orders from anyone.

    When the climbing team return to their base camp, they discover that World War II has broken out in Europe. Harrer, Aufschnaiter, and their climbing team are all imprisoned in a POW camp in Northern India.

    Harrer and Aufschnaiter escape and spend the following years on the run in Tibet, until they find sanctuary in the holy city of Lhasa. Harrer strikes up an unlikely friendship with the young Dalai Lama (Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk). While Harrer is 'employed' to tutor the 14-year-old boy in Western science, in the story's great irony, it is Harrer who does most of the learning.

    In my very basic understanding of Tibetan Buddhism, I believe that the key to receiving enlightenment is the complete abandonment of one's ego. And it is with delicate subtlety that Producer/Director Jean-Jacques Annaud beautifully presents Harrer's spiritual transformation.

    Tragically, this peaceful land and its non-violent people are torn apart when the Chinese invade Tibet in 1950, a gross and shameful wrong which remains to this day.

    Costing about US$70 Million to make, Seven Years in Tibet is a lavish and detailed spectacle. Every aspect of the production is outstanding, but of special note the cinematography, sets, and costumes are all brilliant. In terms of the acting, Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk manages to steal the show as the young, curious, and very likeable Dalai Lama. Notably, the Dalai Lama's real sister, Jetsun Pema, plays his mother in the film with a genuine warmth.

Video

    Overall, I was quite pleased with the transfer, despite it being NTSC.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, 16x9 enhanced.

    The sharpness is good, but the shadow detail is often poor, such as during the train scene at 6:15 and inside the house at 69:19.

    The colour is good, and beautifully renders the dramatic landscapes. Sadly, as I often find with NTSC transfers of older films, the skin tones often look a little orange.

    There are no problems with MPEG or film-to-video artefacts. A few (mostly) small film artefacts appear throughout, and none were ever distracting. Some edge enhancement can be spotted at times, but again I never found it distracting.

    English, Spanish, and French subtitles are present, and the English subtitles are accurate.

    Surprisingly, considering the length of the film, and the three audio options (including 5.1 audio), this film is presented on a single-sided, single-layered disc.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are three audio options: English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s), English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s), and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s). Strangely, the Dolby Digital stereo surround audio track is the default audio.

    The dialogue quality and audio sync is usually good on the English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track, but there is the odd slip. Due to the location shooting, I imagine a lot of the dialogue is looped, and this appeared obvious at times, such as during a conversation at 15:26.

    The musical score is credited to John Williams, with cello solos performed by Yo Yo Ma. In addition to Williams' beautiful score, there is a lot of authentic Tibetan source music which really adds flavour to the film.

    The surround presence and activity is a little disappointing. The 5.1 surround sound mix is quite front-heavy, and often sounds more like a stereo surround mix. Occasionally the rear speakers come to life, such as during the rain at 21:52. The subwoofer fares a lot better, and often adds a lot of punch, such as the giant Tibetan gong at 12:36, and the avalanche at 15:02.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    Sadly there are no extras.

Menu

    A very simple menu, it is static and silent.

    Seven Years in Tibet is available in two versions in Region 1:

    Compared to the standard version (released in early 1998), the Region 4 DVD misses out on:

• Dual-sided disc (DVD 10)

    The Region 1 DVD misses out on:

• Nothing

    Compared to the SuperBit version (released in early 2003), the Region 4 DVD misses out on:

• Dual-layered disc (DVD 9)
• Dolby Digital 5.1 encoded at the higher 448 kbps
• dts 5.1

The Region 1 DVD misses out on:

• Nothing

    Considering we even get lumped with a NTSC transfer, and are deprived on any extras, clearly the R1 SuperBit is the winner.

    Seven Years in Tibet is a touching and beautifully crafted film which I will certainly be watching again in the future. If you enjoyed The Last Emperor or City of Joy, you might want to rent/buy this film.

    The video quality is good overall.

    The audio quality is good, albeit quite front-heavy.

    There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall